| Author | Message | ||
     B_adams |
I've gone through 5 headlight lamps in the last 2 weeks on my '08 Uly. It's got almost 10k miles on it. I've read some reports that blown headlights can be caused by a bad voltage regulator. Is that what's happening? When I checked voltage at the battery as I started it up, it sagged down to about 9 volts, then shot up to almost 16v, then settled at about 13v. It seems to run fine once it gets going, but I'm concerned about the differences in voltage at startup. It's possible my battery is in rough shape, as I haven't exactly taken good care of it, but I don't think that would cause blown headlights. Is it possible that my voltage regulator is dying, or could it be something else? If it is the regulator, could anything else have been damaged by running it in this condition? I've noticed that the fan doesn't seem to run as often anymore while I'm riding, but seems normal once I turn the bike off. | ||
| Itileman |
Are you seating the bulbs properly? There is an upside and a down side. Improperly seated, they will vibrate excessively and can break the filaments on bumps. DAMHIK. | ||
| B_adams |
The lamps are seated correctly. I put the tab in the notch it's supposed to be in. It would probably be difficult to secure the clips if the lamp wasn't in correctly, those springs are tough enough to get in and out. | ||
| Crusty |
My wife's '08 Ss was blowing headlight bulbs on a daily basis. When I tested the alternator in the garage, it was putting out well under 15 Volts at all RPM between 2,000 and 4,000, which the Service manual is normal. It wasn't until I strapped a meter to the airbox cover and started to go for a ride that the voltage spiked up to 19.46. It took me a few weeks and a lot of H 7 bulbs until I figured out why they were blowing. It sure sounds like your bike is doing the same thing. The good news is that Regulators are cheap (relatively) MSRP is something like $78.00. | ||
| B_adams |
Sounds like I should order a new regulator tomorrow. Crusty, I assume the bike was fine once you replaced the regulator. Was anything else damaged by the high voltage? | ||
| Dennis_c |
Do not touch the light bulb with your fingers the oil off your skin will make a hot spot and blow the bulb I don't know how long it will take good luck. | ||
| Griffmeister |
The dealer just replaced the regulator on my '08. Voltage spiked and blew the bulb but then went completely dead, no output at all. Nothing else seems to have suffered from the spike. The CEL came on to tell me that something was wrong at the time. What sucks is that it is not an indication of charge but rather an indication of low voltage. Luckily I was home when I shut down cause it would not restart. | ||
| Crusty |
Brian; the only indication of the problem was headlight bulbs blowing. The 194 pilot light was fine, the dash lights were fine the tail light bulbs were fine. I checked relays, wires in the harness, I re-routed some wires, since I thought that the coil might be causing the problem, I even replaced the spark plug wires. I tore into the harness to check splices. I tried everything I could think of, and took suggestions from everybody. Finally, I borrowed a better meter from work than I have at home, strapped it to the top of the airbox cover, put the leads in the bulb connector, and took the bike out for a ride. The meter has a High/Low feature, and it spiked at 19.46. We replaced the regulator, and everything has been fine since. | ||
| Hambcastle |
If you had this bad boy installed, you would see a flashing green light once in awhile letting you know of the overvoltage condition. It will also let you know when your regulator or battery have given up before you are stranded. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/17/ 542299.html?1272806718 | ||
| Crusty |
I put one of those on my wife's bike this past weekend. Considering that they cost less than $30.00 delivered, they're cheap peace of mind. | ||
| Anna1985beatufy |
checkout all lights connectors. and then restart it completely. i think one of connenction is can't work. |
